Key Squares
by emerl03
Summary: The battle is over, Voldemort is gone and all seems to be well. However the victors will soon learn that a war that large could never be ended so quickly. The only problem is that all the obvious threats have been eliminated; who is to blame? !Discontinued- 22/01/14!
1. Prologue

**A/N**: This whole story is being majorly edited.

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><p><strong>Key Square: (chess terminology)<strong>

An important square.

In pawn endings, a square whose occupation by one side's king guarantees the achievement of a certain goal, such as the promotion of a pawn or the win of a pawn.

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><p>It had been a slow day, as it usually was for Richard, 22 year old shop assistant at Hobbycraft, London. In hindsight he didn't even know why he accepted the job, the pay was mediocre at best and he didn't even have the slightest interest in art. Sure, he needed the money for college fees but surely he could have gotten a job somewhere else.<p>

He had taken to amusing himself by profiling each customer that came through the door, usually with extraordinary stories that ended in some sort of crime. They were all wildly unbelievable, ranging from undercover MI5 agents to homicidal four year-olds. He couldn't help it, what else was an aspiring crime novelist to do?

He heard the infrequent yet distinctive sound of footsteps, most likely approaching his till. Sitting up straight, he plastered a cheesy smile on his face and focused his attention on the approaching female.

She was tall, thin and gorgeous. There was a small smile on her lips, almost unconsciously. She was carrying a large pile of materials, ranging from wool, fabrics and markers to small wooden figurines and carving chisels. Richard immediately stood to help her carry the load, telling himself that it was because she was a customer, not just a beautiful woman.

"Hi, I'm Rick, let me help you with that," he smiled charmingly and carried the items to the checkout. Quickly sitting back into his chair he began to scan them through.

"I'm Persephone. I know, unusual name, my family has a thing for them." She chuckled lightly.

"Queen of the Underworld eh?" Rick began bagging Persephone's purchases, seeing he wasn't going to get a response. "So, what are all these supplies for?"

Her response was instantaneous. Her face froze, her smile disappeared and her body stiffened. Her eyes turned from a light sapphire to a piercing shade that was almost more white than blue. Rick felt himself tense in response and his heart sped up. Gone was the friendly stranger, leaving a terrifyingly dangerous monster.

"What I do with the things I buy has nothing to do with you." It was a command, not open for discussion. Rick finished packing her bags and handed them over in silence. She handed him a shiny gold credit card which he swiftly scanned before handing it back to her. Picking up her belongings she turned and had left the store before Rick had even noticed.

"Have a nice day," he whispered sarcastically to himself, slumping down in his chair and breathing deeply to calm his racing pulse.


	2. Chapter 1

_**Restarting the Heart**_

**Chapter 1**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Harry Potter world, which belongs to none other than J.K. Rowling.**

*****Most quotes are from Deathly Hallows and the start of this follows her story, the first two chapters so don't read unless you've read Deathly Hallows*****

Ginny Weasley felt empty. Her whole world had just been taken from her. All she could do was scream, as she ran towards the forest, minutely aware of the crowd that where behind her and the two people who stood beside her. She slowed as she reached the edge of the forest, spotting the body lying in Hagrid's arms. Realisation hit her like a tidal wave, it really was him. He was dead. As her screams faded she became aware of the noise coming from behind her, as the rest of the crowd shouted abuse against Voldemort and support for their army.

"SILENCE!" cried Voldemort, silencing us all with a bang and a flash of bright light. "It is over! Set him down, Hagrid, at my feet, where he belongs!" Ginny watched as Hagrid lay Harry's body down on the ground. It was then, as she lurched forward, that she realised someone had their arms around her and were trying to comfort her.

"Sshhhh Gin, it's alright. It's ok. You're ok. Calm down." She heard Bill's voice, trying to comfort her, but she was only half listening, her eyes fixed on the body which lag in front of them. She felt herself take in sharp breaths of air, continuing to whisper Harry's name and wondering how she was not crying.

"You see?" exclaimed Voldemort, as he began to stride back and forth in front of Harry, blocking Ginny's view. "Harry Potter is dead! Do you understand now deluded ones? He was nothing, ever, but a boy who relied on others to sacrifice themselves for him!"

"He beat you!" She heard Ron yell, as the silencing charm broke and the whole crowd gathered began to shout and scream, until another loud bang and a flash of light silenced them all once more.

"He was killed while trying to sneak out of the castle grounds", sneered Voldemort and Ginny could not believe what she was hearing. At once she knew it was a lie, that just wasn't Harry. He would never do that to them, especially not in the middle of a war. She knew he just wouldn't walk out on them. "Killed while trying to save himself-" continued Voldemort, until he broke off as a figure emerged from the crowd. It was Neville. Ginny watched as he fell to the ground, disarmed and heard Voldemort laugh at him, lying there. It was more of a cackle than a laugh; it was a cold sound, no emotion or feeling behind it.

"And who is this? Who has volunteered to demonstrate what happens to those who continue to fight when the battle is lost?" said Voldemort. Ginny would have laughed at these words, if she could have found her voice, because Voldemort had the contempt to think that just because Harry had died he had won. She knew he hadn't though; she knew that no matter what, everyone would keep fighting.

She heard another cackle of a laugh, this time more forced; it was a madwoman's laugh. Sure enough it was Bellatrix Lestrange who cried out in her girly, high-pitched voice, "It is Neville Longbottom, my Lord! The boy who has been giving the Carrows so much trouble! The son of the Aurors, remember?"

"Ah yes, I remember," said Voldemort, as Ginny tore her eyes from Harry to watch the scene unfolding before them. Neville was struggling to get to his feet, and found himself standing unarmed and unprotected between the defenders and attackers. "But you are a pureblood, aren't you, my brave boy?" he asked, a curious look on his face.

"So what if I am?" cried Neville. Ginny admired how he had the courage to stand up to Voldemort and how his voice never broke; Harry would have been proud she thought a lump forming in her throat.

"You show spirit, and bravery, and you come of noble stock," observed Voldemort, "You will make a very valuable Death Eater. We need your kind, Neville Longbottom."

"I'll join you when hell freezes over," cried Neville, "Dumbledore's Army!" A loud cheer went through the group and the silencing charms no longer seemed to have any effect on them.

"Very well," said Voldemort, his voice a deadly silky tone, "If that is your choice, Longbottom, we revert to the original plan. On your head be it." She watched as Voldemort waved his wand, she heard a window shatter and when she looked back to him Voldemort was holding a crumpled black object in his hand; the Sorting Hat.

"There will be no more Sorting at Hogwarts School," proclaimed Voldemort, "There will be no more houses. The emblem, shield and colours of my noble ancestor, Salazar Slytherin, will suffice for everyone, won't they, Neville Longbottom?" He pointed his wand at Neville, who was forced to stand up straight, as Voldemort forced the Sorting Hat onto his head. "Neville here is now going to demonstrate what happens to anyone foolish enough to continue to oppose me," called Voldemort and with a flick of his wrist, the Sorting Hat burst into flames.

From then on Ginny felt like she was in a daze. Several things happened at once: Firstly, great masses of people came storming over the out-of-sight walls, causing much cheering from the defending army and uproar from the opposition. Secondly, Grawp came lumbering round the side of the castle, agitating Voldemort's giants who hollered and bellowed at Grawp. Ginny took one more look at Harry's body where it lay, before turning towards the forest to the sound of hooves; the centaurs had decided to come to help. Thirdly, Neville broke free of the curses holding him there and in one swift motion pulled a large silver blade from the Sorting Hat. Just as the Death Eaters broke free and began to run at the defenders, Neville whirled around and in one quick slice, beheaded Voldemort's snake.

Over all the commotion, Ginny heard one voice over the crowd; Hagrid was crying out, "HARRY! HARRY! WHERE'S HARRY?" The pain she felt as these words registered with her almost made her stop and break down, there and then. If it hadn't been for the crowd pushing her back into the school and Bill's hold on her shoulder, she would have. But she knew she couldn't, there was a war in progress and the best thing she could do right now was fight; fight for her cause, to stop Voldemort, to stop the suffering he was causing and for Harry. That was the main reason she kept fighting, because Harry would have and he would have wanted her to too.

**Not sure how often I'll be able to upload, possibly once a week, maybe more, depending on how much free writing time I get. Reviews are always appreciated, but I'm not going to be pushy or beg for them.**


	3. Chapter 2

_**Restarting the Heart**_

**Chapter 2:**

**Again, most of the quotes are from Deathly Hallows, but after this chapter, it'll follow my story line.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Harry Potter material, it's all J.K. Rowling's but I doubt you'd mistake me for her anyways.**

Ginny battled her way back into the Great Hall firing stunning spells at any Death Eater she saw, the grief she felt spilling over as anger and she fought with a passion she never had before. She stormed into the Great Hall and noticed many smaller battles forming around the centre of the hall. She saw Voldemort taking on Professor McGonagall, Professor Slughorn and Kingsley, while Bellatrix battled Hermione and Luna. She saw that her friends needed all the help they could get and rushed to help them.

She was immediately focused on the battle and although there were three of them and only one of Bellatrix, it was clearly a fair fight. She whirled around, firing stunner after stunner at Bellatrix and was constantly dodging and casting shield charms. She was using all her strength and power and she knew Hermione and Luna were too and she was frustrated with herself for not putting in more effort. I can beat her, I know I can, she thought. For Harry, come on Ginny you can win this for him. Suddenly, she felt like a flame had been lit inside her, she battled with a new fury. She was less careful, attacking rather than defending. She was almost tired out when a killing curse flew past her shoulder, missing her by millimetres. She felt stunned; she had felt the curse breeze over her shoulder, almost through her hair. Almost instantly, she was annoyed with herself, annoyed that she couldn't beat Bellatrix and annoyed that that it was taking so much of her energy, simply to survive.

Before she had a chance to react, or fire a spell back at Bellatrix, her mother Molly Weasley was pushing her out of the way, with eyes only for Bellatrix.

"NOT MY DAUGHTER YOU BITCH!" cried Mrs Weasley, running out in front of the girls, putting one arm out to shield them, while the other held her wand which was being waved and flicked around ten times faster than Ginny's ever did.

"OUT OF MY WAY!" she screamed, her wand slicing through the air, vicious blasts of light coming from both duellers wands. As they continued to battle the floor beneath them became cracked and hot and it was clear to Ginny that the loser would not survive.

"No!" warned Molly Weasley, as some of the spectators moved to help her, "Get back! _Get back! _She is mine!" Ginny noticed that the middle of the hall was empty, except for Mrs Weasley and Bellatrix and McGonagall, Slughorn, Kingsley and Voldemort. The rest of the armies lined the walls, watching the on-going battles in awe.

"What will happen to your children when I've killed you?" taunted Bellatrix, an evil grin on her face and a look of madness and mock concern in her eyes. "When Mummy's gone the same way as Freddie?"

"You – will – never – touch – our – children – again!" screeched Mrs Weasley, fury building up inside her, so much as that she felt as if her insides were on fire.

Bellatrix gave a loud exhilarated laugh, taunting Mrs Weasley, and the fury boiled over. Molly's curse soared straight at her, hitting her chest. Her goading smile froze as she fell backwards, lifeless. Voldemort, upon witnessing his most faithful servant's death, screamed, and with a bang he knocked his opponents backwards, aiming straight at Mrs Weasley.

Then Ginny heard a loud cry; a familiar one. It couldn't be though, he was dead. She had seen him, lying there in Hagrid's arm as he carried him out of the forest. And yet the voice which cried out "Protego!" was exactly like his. It just couldn't be, but it was. As she turned around she saw him, standing in the middle of the hall, wand out, face-to-face with Voldemort.

Ginny could hear whispers all around her, "Harry! HE'S ALIVE!" Ginny felt her hand drift towards her heart and she pulled both her arms close into her chest. "Harry", she whispered and if she weren't in shock she thought she might have cried.

"I don't want anyone else to try to help. It's got to be like this. It's got to be me," called Harry to the crowd, his stupid nobility once again, thought Ginny, but she understood that he didn't want anyone else to get hurt.

"Potter doesn't mean that," hissed Voldemort, his eyes open wide, sneering at Harry. "That isn't how he works is it? Who are you going to use as a shield today, Potter?"

"Nobody," said Harry simply. "There are no more Horcruxes. It's just you and me. Neither can live while the other survives, and one of us is about to leave for good."

"One of us?" jeered Voldemort. "You think it will be you, do you, the boy who has survived by accident, and because Dumbledore was pulling the strings?"

"Accident, was it, when my mother died to save me?" asked Harry, as both opponents moved round in a perfect circle, keeping the exact same amount of space between them. "Accident, when I decided to fight in that graveyard? Accident, that I didn't defend myself tonight, and still survived, and returned to fight again?"

"_Accidents_!" screamed Voldemort, yet he did not attack; he seemed intrigued by what Harry was going to say next. The whole hall was silent except for the one pair in the centre. "Accident and chance and the fact that you crouched and snivelled behind the skirts of greater men and women, and permitted me to kill them for you!"

"You won't be killing anyone else tonight," said Harry passionately, staring into Voldemort's blood-red eyes. "You won't be able to kill any of them, ever again. Don't you get it? I was ready to die to stop you hurting these people-"

"But you did not!"

"- I meant to, and that's what did it. I've done what my mother did. They're protected from you. Haven't you noticed how none of the spells you put on them are binding? You can't torture them. You can't touch them. You don't learn from your mistakes, Riddle, do you?"

"_You dare -"_

"Yes, I dare," said Harry calmly, and Ginny could tell that Voldemort was listening carefully now; he would have struck had he not wanted to hear what Harry had to say. "I know things you don't know, Tom Riddle. I know lots of important things that you don't. Want to hear some, before you make another big mistake?"

"Is it love again? Dumbledore's favourite solution, _love_, which he claimed conquered death, though love didn't stop him falling from the Tower and breaking like an old waxwork? _Love_, which didn't prevent me stamping out your Mudblood mother like a cockroach, Potter –nobody seems to love you enough to run forward this time, and take my curse. So what will stop you dying now when I strike?"

"Just one thing" said Harry while they circled each other, still in a perfect rotation.

"If it is not love that will save you this time, you must believe that you have magic that I have not, or else a weapon more powerful than mine?"

"I believe I have both," said Harry calmly, and Ginny saw shock and horror flash on Voldemort's face for a split second, and then he was laughing.

"You think _you_ know more magic than I do?" Voldemort asked incredulously, "Than _I_, than Lord Voldemort, who has performed magic that Dumbledore himself never dreamed of?"

"Oh, he dreamed of it," Harry replied, "but he knew more than you, he knew enough not to do what you've done."

"You mean he was weak!" screamed Voldemort, clearly agitated, and Ginny knew that Harry wouldn't let Voldemort insult Dumbledore for long. "Too weak to dare, too weak to take what might have been his, what will be mine!"

"No, he was cleverer than you, a better wizard, a better man." Harry said patiently, more so than Ginny expected him to be.

"I brought about the death of Albus Dumbledore!" cried Voldemort, determined to claim this as one of his greatest victories.

"You thought you did, but you were wrong." The crowd was generally confused at this, and so was Ginny. Harry was going to explain it all to her later; she would make sure he did. She needed a lot of answers, and she needed them from him.

'That's if he survives' thought a darker part of Ginny's mind, but her usual optimistic self disagreed. He was going to survive, He always did, he was Harry Potter; The Boy Who Lived couldn't die.

"_Dumbledore is dead!_" Voldemort was lost in rage, he didn't like it when people told him he was wrong. "His body decays in the marble tomb in the grounds of this castle, I have seen it, Potter, he will not return!"

"Yes, Dumbledore's dead," said Harry, with the air of patience Ginny had often heard from her parents and professors, "but you didn't have him killed. He chose his own manner of dying, chose it months before he died, arranged the whole thing with the man you thought was your servant."

"What childish dream is this?"

"Severus Snape wasn't yours, Snape was Dumbledore's, Dumbledore's from the moment you started hunting down my mother. And you never realised it, because of the thing you can't understand. You never saw Snape cast a Patronus, did you, Riddle?"

Ginny missed whether or not Voldemort replied to what Harry had to say about Snape's Patronus and his mother, as she was lost in her own thoughts. She didn't understand any of this, of Snape being on Dumbledore's side and why; Harry had a lot of explaining to do. When she pulled herself from her thoughts, she caught what Harry had to say.

"Snape's Patronus was a doe," explained Harry, "the same as my mother's, because he loved her for nearly all his life, from the time when they were children. You should have realised, he asked you to spare her life, didn't he?"

"He desired her," said Voldemort slowly, "that was all, but when she was gone, he agreed that there were other women, and of purer blood, worthier of him -"

"Of course he told you that," interrupted Harry, "but he was Dumbledore's spy from the moment you threatened her, and he's been working against you ever since! Dumbledore was already dying when Snape finished him!"

"It matters not!" shrieked Voldemort, and he let out a mad cackle of laughter, as if he was implying that he did not believe a word of what Harry had said, but Ginny could tell from the look on his face that he had been giving Harry his full attention.

"It matters not whether Snape was mine or Dumbledore's, or what petty obstacles they tried to put in my path! I crushed them as I crushed your mother, Snape's supposed great _love_! Oh but it all makes sense, Potter, in ways that you do not understand!"

"Dumbledore was trying to keep the Elder Wand from me! He intended that Snape should be the true master of the wand! But I got there ahead of you, little boy – I reached the wand before you could get your hands on it, I understood the truth before you caught up. I killed Severus Snape three hours ago, and the Elder Wand, the Deathstick, the Wand of Destiny is truly mine! Dumbledore's last plan went wrong, Harry Potter!"

Again Ginny was confused; Voldemort had said that he had killed Snape. Normally, this would have been the best news of the day, and she couldn't help but feel slightly happy that he was dead, even if he had turned out to be good in the end. But the news that Snape had been Dumbledore's spy seemed to come as a surprise to Voldemort. If he hadn't been a spy, why else would Voldemort have killed him?

She was also confused about the Elder Wand. She had heard of it before, in one of the bedtime stories her mum used to read to her, The Tale of the Three Brothers. She had always thought that it had just been part of a fictional story, wrote to teach children not to be greedy, but could it be real? And if it was, did Voldemort really have it?

"Yeah, it did," said Harry. "You're right. But before you try to kill me, I'd advise you to think about what you've done … think, and try for some remorse, Riddle …"

"What is this?" quizzed Voldemort furiously. It was clear that Harry had hit a nerve from how shocked Voldemort looked and sounded

"It's your one last chance," said Harry, "it's all you've got left … I've seen what you'll be otherwise … be a man … try … try for some remorse …"

"You dare –?" hissed Voldemort again.

"Yes, I dare," said Harry, "because Dumbledore's last plan hasn't backfired on me at all. It's backfired on you, Riddle. That wand still isn't working properly for you, because you murdered the wrong person. Severus Snape was never the true master of the Elder Wand. He never defeated Dumbledore."

"He killed –" began Voldemort, but he was cut off by Harry, who was beginning to sound frustrated.

"Aren't you listening? _Snape never beat Dumbledore!_ Dumbledore's death was planned between them! Dumbledore intended to die undefeated, the wand's last true master! If all had gone as planned, the wand's power would have died with him, because it had never been won from him!"

"But then, Potter, Dumbledore as good as gave me the wand!" cried Voldemort triumphantly. "I stole the wand from its last master's tomb! I removed it against its last master's wishes! Its power is mine!"

"You still don't get it, Riddle, do you? Possessing the wand isn't enough! Holding it, using it, doesn't make it really yours. Didn't you listen to Ollivander? _The wand chooses the wizard _… the Elder Wand recognised a new master before Dumbledore died, someone who never even laid a hand on it. The new master removed the wand from Dumbledore against his will, never realising exactly what he had done, or that the world's most dangerous wand had given him its allegiance …"

Ginny suddenly felt a hint of pity for the person, who without knowing, had been in grave danger for months. She pondered how lucky the person was that Voldemort never knew who the true master was, although she realised that if someone had been Dumbledore's wand from him, they were probably a Death Eater, or working with them, at the very least. Her worst fears were confirmed as Harry continued, and all traces of pity were eradicated.

"The true master of the Elder Wand was Draco Malfoy."

"But what does it matter?" Voldemort said softly, after recovering from the shock of this revelation. "Even if you are right, Potter, it makes no difference to you and me. You no longer have the phoenix wand: we duel on skill alone … and after I have killed you, I can attend to Draco Malfoy …"

"But you're too late," said Harry, and Ginny could tell that the actual duel was not far away. "You've missed your chance. I got there first. I overpowered Draco weeks ago. I took this wand from him."

"So it all comes down to this, doesn't it?" whispered Harry, still holding up Draco's wand and the eyes of everyone in the hall rested on it. "Does the wand in your hand know its last master was disarmed? Because if it does … I am the true master of the Elder Wand."

Then the moment came, just as the sun lit the Great Hall, Ginny heard to voices cry out, knowing all she could do was stand there and pray that he would win.

She heard Voldemort's cry of "Avada Kedavra!" first, but before he had finished the first word, Harry added his shout of "Expelliarmus!" to the silence.

There was a loud bang when both spells met, and a flash of golden flames. Then the Elder Wand came flying through the air and landed in Harry's outstretched hand; he had won. Voldemort fell backwards and there was a seconds silence and calm, before the whole hall erupted in cheers and surged towards Harry.

Ron and Hermione were the first to reach him, but Ginny was not far behind. As she finally got close enough to hug him tightly, she looked up into his eyes and saw his unspoken apology and love in them. She gave him a blazing look, and released him to the rest of the crowd. He held her hand for as long as he could, but eventually they became separated. Ginny wasn't worried, she knew that she and Harry had forever, but right now, her family needed her, and she needed to grieve. She looked around in the crowd, and eventually spotted her mother. She squeezed through the crowd towards her, and her mother took her into her arms. Although today had been a bad day for her, Ginny knew that, over time, things would get better.

**Most of this chapter is a bit boring for us fans who have read the books over and over again, but I felt like this was the right way to set up the story. Hope you enjoyed it anyways, and a big thanks to everyone who alerted and favourited.**


	4. Chapter 3

_**Restarting the Heart**_

**Chapter 3:**

**So here's chapter 3, and from now on it's all my story line. Oh and thanks for the reviews, favorites and alerts.**

**Disclaimer: Honestly, I wish I was J.K. Rowling, but I will never be that cool.**

Ginny was exhausted; it had been a long day. At the moment, she was sitting at one of the tables in the Great Hall, leaning on her mother's shoulder. Her eyes were red and puffy, from when the tears she had been holding in all day burst out, and she was sure her hair was a mess, and her clothes covered in dirt and blood.

She had not seen Harry since she had hugged him, just after he had beaten Voldemort. He had given her an unusual look, which she thought had been mixed between guilt and love, but she didn't understand it. She needed to talk to him, soon, but not yet. Right now she wanted to spend time with her family, to grieve.

All of the Weasley family were there, except for Ron and George. She knew that George was up in Gryffindor Tower, probably still in bed, and was refusing to talk to anyone. She didn't, however, know were Ron was. She had seen him, right after the battle had finished, holding hands with Hermione as they left the Great Hall together, but she hadn't seen him since.

Ginny sat up, and Molly Weasley moved to sit beside Arthur. She went and sat next to Bill and Fleur, who were sitting furthest away from the rest of the family. Fleur was on Bill's right, holding tightly onto his arm, so Ginny sat down on his left. He reached his other arm out and stretched it round Ginny's shoulders. They sat in silence for a minute, before Bill broke the silence.

"You ok?" he asked in a whisper. He seemed afraid of how his voice would sound if he spoke aloud.

"No," Ginny admitted, leaning her head onto Bill's shoulder, "but I will be."

Bill squeezed her shoulders lightly, and looked down at her. "I know you will be." He said softly, and once again they slipped into silence.

Ginny got up before long, and through the crowd, she saw Luna Lovegood sitting at one of the other tables. She drifted over and sat down beside Luna, where she found her engaged in a passionate discussion about Blibbering Humdingers with a 4th year Hufflepuff. Ginny didn't understand a word either of them said, but she wasn't listening too carefully.

When she saw the stars begin to come out in the sky, which was portrayed on the Great Hall ceiling, she decided it was time for bed. She said goodnight to Luna, and wandered over to her family, to say goodnight to them. Mr Weasley informed her that they would all be sharing Ron and Harry's old dorm room, and doubling up in beds. Her mum and dad were sharing the first, Bill and Fleur were sharing the second, Charlie and Percy were sharing the third, Ron and Harry were sharing the fourth and Hermione and Ginny were sharing the last bed.

She understood, her parents were trying to keep the family close together, and even though she would rather have gone up to her own bed in the girl's dorms, she didn't have the heart or the strength to argue with her mother right now.

She said goodnight to them all and trudged up the stairs, through the common room and straight up to the boy's dorm. When she got there, she saw Harry asleep already and Ron and Hermione sitting on one of the other beds, staring into each other's eyes and talking about something.

They broke apart when Ginny entered the room and explained the sleeping arrangements to them. She quickly chose a bed, drew the hangings, changed quickly, and fell into bed. She was absolutely exhausted, yet she couldn't get to sleep. She lay there twisting and turning, until the rest of the family came to bed. She kept waking up through the night, horrified at the sights she saw in her dreams.

The dream she was having was the same, over and over again. At first, she saw bodies, all her family, lying there dead. Then they disappeared, and Fred stood there, staring at her and telling her how he might have survived, if she had tried to save him. He told her that everyone would have preferred if she had died, and he survived. Although this was traumatising enough, the final scene in her dream hurt her the most.

She saw Harry, lying limp in Hagrid's arms, and watched as that particular part of the battle replayed in her head. In her nightmare, there was only one vital difference, Harry never got up. She watched as he lay there, and as Voldemort went through the crowd, torturing and killing the people around her; they had lost. Harry was dead; he wasn't coming back.

The image of Harry's dead body caused Ginny so much pain that she felt sure she must have been screaming and thrashing around in her sleep, but, to her surprise, each time she simply woke up.

Hermione would have told her it was an irrational fear, and that Harry was clearly alright, he was in his bed on the other side of the room. To tell the truth, Hermione and Luna were the only people Ginny felt she could talk to about her feelings for Harry. She couldn't tell her brothers, she knew that they would be shocked and possibly angry with Harry. She knew they were only trying to protect her, they were her brothers, it was their job, but sometimes they could be a real pain.

In fact the only members of her family that had known about her and Harry's brief relationship were Ron and the twins. This brought up a tidal wave of grief. She could never talk to Fred about anything, and she knew she would miss his comfort. She still had George to make her laugh and lift her spirits when she was down, but she wasn't sure how long it would be before he could laugh again.

She completely skipped over Ron; he was the last brother she would go to to talk about her feelings, except perhaps Percy, and she would rather talk to the Whomping Willow than Percy right now. He had come back before the battle, and had been welcomed with open arms. Well, not at first, but in the end the rest of the family accepted him back, all except for Ginny.

She wanted answers from before she could forgive him, most of all _why? _What did he think he would accomplish by turning traitor? Right now, she needed lots of answers, not just from Percy, but from Harry too. She drew back the hangings of her bed, and peeked over towards Harry and Ron's bed. She saw Ron, practically falling out of the bed, snoring loudly, and Harry beside him. He had his back to her, but Ginny guessed that he wasn't asleep. She might have gotten up and gone over to him, if it wasn't for a rush of tiredness that hit her just then. 'I can talk to him in the morning' she thought as she let sleep engulf her.

The next morning Ginny woke up to find that she was alone in the dorm. At first she just presumed that they had gone down to the Great Hall for breakfast. She picked out a pair of jeans and a Holyhead Harpies t-shirt to go with her Weasley jumper. She decided to get changed in the bathroom; she just couldn't trust her brothers not to come in, even if it was locked.

She changed quickly, eager to find her family, and to have something to do. Being alone and silent gave her time to think of everything they had lost in the war, Tonks, Lupin, Fred –

She tried to think of happy memories to stop herself thinking about the war, but everything she thought of seemed to have some connection to it. She thought of the hours that she had spent in the Room of Requirement, learning and fighting with the rest of Dumbledore's Army. This brought back very strong memories, of the months that she had practically lived in the Room of Requirement that year, of the battle, of Harry, and of Fred.

She pushed these memories to the back of her mind, and racked her brain for ones that did not have any connection to her suffering. She thought of Christmas at the Burrow, but these thoughts just reminded her of Fred.

She settled her mind on Quidditch and all the matches at Hogwarts. Whether she played or not, she always enjoyed them. She thought of the long hours she spent practicing and training, and the victory celebrations when they won.

As she left Gryffindor Tower, she pushed thoughts of Quidditch cup victories and post-match celebrations out of her mind and hurried through the castle towards the Great Hall. Some memories from the end of her fifth year brought up other thoughts, and even though they were happy ones, she would rather not have them.

She entered the Great Hall to find her parents, siblings, Fleur and Hermione sitting at the Gryffindor table. She noticed instantly that Harry was not there. She flashed a look of alarm and worry at Hermione who simply smiled back at her. Ginny took this to mean that Harry was fine, and took a seat beside Hermione.

Hermione leant down to Ginny and whispered "He's fine; he's in the Hospital Wing." Noticing the alarm these words caused, Hermione continued. "Getting cleaned up, you can't go through a battle like that without a scratch. I'm pretty sure he's fine, other than a few cuts and bruises." Ginny sighed with relief, and Hermione looked down at her, giving her an understanding smile, before she glanced over at Ron, then back to Ginny.

'That'll take some getting used to,' thought Ginny, as she blushed. She had seen something more in Hermione's smile, which made her feel like Hermione knew that she had spent weeks in her room after they had left, worrying for their safety, or that she had nearly cried when she found out they were at Shell Cottage, and she couldn't go see them.

* * *

><p>Everyone in the Weasley family thought that there was something strange about Ginny's behaviour after Ron, Hermione and Harry's departure, but had said nothing, thinking she just missed them because they well the closest to her age, and she treated them like brothers and sister.<p>

Bill was the only one that Ginny trusted with her secret. After eavesdropping on a conversation between Bill and her father, she learnt that they had turned up at Shell Cottage, Bill and Fleur's house, with a host of other people, with talk of capture, torture and Malfoy Manor.

Ginny had immediately set up a plan to get to Shell Cottage and see them. She had 'borrowed' one of Fred and George's invisibility cloaks, escaped the protection around her Aunt Muriel's house and disapparated to near Bill and Fleur's house. She had stayed at a safe distance and watched Harry digging a hole at the edge of the garden, between some bushes.

He was covered in sweat, dirt and, to her horror, blood. She walked further into the garden, so she could see the rest of the house. She glanced towards the house and saw Bill and Fleur watching Harry from the kitchen window. She headed in Harry's direction, and saw down on a rock near him. She sat in silence and watched him dig. 'He's digging a grave' she realised.

When she looked at his face she saw wounds all over it, he had some open cuts, some new scars, and his face was bruised and swollen in places. She also noticed that he had tears in his eyes, a few of which fell as he dug. This made her insides cry out in pain. She had never seen Harry cry and the only time she had seen him with tears in his eyes was at Dumbledore's funeral.

'It has to be someone closer to him than Dumbledore' she thought and there were only two people other than her who were that close to Harry. 'It has to be either Ron or Hermione' she thought, looking at the grave. It didn't look big enough for either of them, but they could charm it to make it bigger. She watched as he took a step back and wiped his eyes, and she noticed that he looked years older than he had before they left; his face had a tired look Ginny had once seen in Dumbledore.

She gasped in shock as people began to come out of the house, first came Dean Thomas, a boy from Harry's year who Ginny had once dated, followed by Ron. 'So it must be Hermione' thought Ginny sadly as the tears began to well in her eyes. Shock hit her face at Harry's first question.

"How's Hermione?" he asked; his voice was barely louder than a whisper and he spoke in a grave tone.

"Better," replied Ron in the same grave tone. "Fleur's looking after her."

Relief washed over her, but it was soon followed by a wave of despair; who was dead? She watched as Ron conjured up two more spades and began to help Harry dig. They dug in silence for a while, until Harry climbed out of the hole, which was now plenty deep enough for a grave, and picked up a small body, wrapped in his jacket. 'A child?' thought Ginny.

Ginny watched Harry as he wrapped his jacket more snugly around the body, and Ron as he sat down, took off his socks, and handed them to Harry who put them on the figure. She saw Dean hand Harry a woollen hat, and as he put it on the victim, she saw that it was a house elf, and one she recognised from somewhere. As they were dressing the elf, more people joined them.

Bill, Fleur, Hermione and Luna Lovegood stood slightly back, and Ginny was shocked at the state she found the latter two in. Both looked pale and shaky, Luna looked a little better though. She was wearing a borrowed coat; Hermione was dressed in a dressing gown, and looked like she had just had a run in with a dementor, which Ginny knew could have been the case. Bill spoke, alerting the others to their presence.

"We should close his eyes."

Ginny watched as Hermione took a nervous step forward, and grabbed onto Ron's arm, using it for support. Luna also stepped forward, reached down and closed the elf's eyes.

"There," she said softly, "Now he could be sleeping." Harry reached down and laid the elf into the grave before Luna continued.

"I think we ought to say something," she said. "I'll go first, shall I?"

It was clear from the looks on all their faces that they expected Harry to speak, but Ginny didn't think he would. Luna leant down and addressed the elf that lay in the grave.

"Thank you so much, Dobby, for rescuing me from that cellar. It's so unfair that you had to die, when you were so good and brave. I'll always remember what you did for us. I hope you're happy now." Luna looked expectantly at the rest of them, who muttered their goodbyes and thanks.

After taking a while to review Luna's goodbye in her head, she realised why Harry was so upset. Dobby had died trying to save them, and Harry's extreme guilt and selflessness must have been bothering him. He would think that it was his fault that Dobby had died.

Bill raised his wand and the pile of earth the three boy's had dug from the grave fell into a mound over the elf. Everyone waited a second, then turned to go inside, everyone except Harry.

"D'you mind if I stay here a moment?" he asked softly, his voice almost breaking more than once.

The others murmured words of support and patted him on the back, before turning to go inside. When they were gone, Ginny wanted to pull the cloak off and comfort and talk to him. She knew she couldn't, because he would freak-out and tell Ginny it was too dangerous for her to leave the house.

Harry went over to the pile of rocks where Ginny was sitting, and for a moment Ginny thought he had seen her. She guessed that he hadn't seen her, because he selected a rather flat stone from near her feet and placed it on the grave. He pulled a wand out of his pocket and craved something into the stone. As he got up and left, Ginny went over to examine the stone. She saw the words _'Here lies Dobby, a free elf' _inscribed on the stone. She looked back towards the house and saw Harry go inside, closing the door behind him. For reasons she didn't know, Ginny began to cry.

She pulled out a photo from her pocket and held it tightly in her hands. Knowing that Ginny was missing Hermione, Ron and especially Harry, Colin Creevy had put together a scrapbook of all the photos he had of them for her for Christmas. She had removed one of her and Harry so she could constantly feel like she still had a part of him. She heard a loud gasp behind her and turned around to find Fleur not far behind her. Her wand was drawn and she was exclaiming in French. Ginny had noticed she did that when she was angry and was not looking forward to her reaction. Even though she suspected that the charm on her cloak had worn off, she pulled it off and looked up at Fleur.

Fleur's reaction was the opposite of what she had expected. When she saw she had been crying, she pulled Ginny into a tight hug and comforted her.

"Oh, Ginny Weasley, what will we do with you?" she muttered, half scolding, half comforting her. When Fleur noticed the picture in Ginny's hands she asked to see it, and Ginny handed it over reluctantly. Realisation dawned on Fleur's face as she saw the younger versions of Ginny and Harry together. They were sitting on one of the armchairs in Gryffindor common room together. Ginny was sitting on Harry's lap, reading through a large pile of notes while Harry stroked the back of the hair. Colin had taken it when they were not looking, and he had a lot of pictures of her and Harry.

"Zis is why you came, eez it not?" Fleur prompted, pulling Ginny back into her arms. "You came to see 'Arry." Ginny nodded and sat up.

"Yes," she whispered softly, wiping her eyes. "I had to see him." She shot an apologetic look at Fleur who smiled weakly and understandingly. She knew what it was like to be young and in love.

"You will come inside, will you?" asked Fleur, not waiting for Ginny's answer before continuing. "Zey are upstairs, you can go to mine and Bill's room. Zey will not see you."

Ginny nodded weakly before getting to her feet. Fleur waited for her before walking inside with her. Bill greeted them in the kitchen, nearly dropping the glass he was carrying when he saw Ginny. Ginny sat down at the table and let Fleur explain, handing over the picture when Fleur asked. Bill was surprised when he saw the picture and at first his older brother protectiveness was irked, but he knew that Ginny could make her own decisions.

"When was this?" he asked, pointing to the photo, when Fleur had finished. The two of them looked much younger than they did now, but it couldn't have been more than a year ago.

"Start of June last year," replied Ginny, smiling at Bill's shocked expression.

"You managed to keep this from all of us for this long?" he enquired. "You aren't exactly hiding it are you? I suppose Ron knows?"

Ginny sighed. Although Bill was the most understanding of her brothers, he was still her older brother, and to him, it was his job to protect Ginny.

"Yes, Ron knows and no we weren't hiding it from him. The only reason I didn't tell you all is because …" she hesitated, not sure how Bill would react. "We broke up, just after Dumbledore's funeral."

"Why?" he asked. She saw Bill's anger building up on his face, but he controlled it, which she was grateful for.

"He thought You-Know-Who would target me if he found out how close we were, and he wanted to protect me. He also knew that he had a mission from Dumbledore and that he had to do that so we couldn't stay together." She said sadly.

Bill's face softened at her answer, but his curiosity peaked.

"Ginny, do you know what their mission is?" he asked eagerly. "Did Harry tell you about it?"

Ginny thought carefully about her answer, but tried not to hesitate too much.

"Well, I probably know more than the rest of you, judging by how Mum and Dad are acting. He didn't want to tell me much about their mission, he only told me about it by accident. Sorry Bill but I can't tell you anything."

Well, I'd better get you back to Muriel's then." Bill sighed. "You ready?"

As Ginny stood up Fleur caught her arm.

"'e will be alright Ginny," she reassured her. "Il est fort."

Ginny smiled at her and stood up. "Thank-you," she said. "Thanks for understanding."

While Bill led Ginny outside, Fleur quickly made a copy of the photo for Harry. She would leave it for him to find somewhere.

"Ginny," called Fleur after them, holding up the photo. "Don't forget zis!"

Ginny smile appreciatively at her, took the photo and hurried back to where Bill stood, ready to disapparate. Ginny sneaked into the house and up to her room, ready to pretend she had been there all day.

* * *

><p>"Ginny?" called her mother, bringing her out of her flashback. "Aren't you going to eat anything?"<p>

Ginny looked down at her plate, which was still empty. "No Mum," she replied, "not hungry."

She left the Hall quickly, but she still saw Fleur's sympathetic look.


	5. Chapter 4

_**Restarting the Heart**_

**Chapter 4:**

**Disclaimer: You guys get it by now, I'm not J.K. Rowling and I never will be.**

Ginny rushed out of the Great Hall and up the stairs before she stopped for a moment. She knew she had to find and talk to Harry, but she had no idea where he was. She simply stood there for several moments, trying to think of places he could be. Then she remembered Hermione had said he was in the Hospital Wing. She rushed up the stairs and straight into the overcrowded ward. She was immediately asked to help, and found herself handing out pain potions to various patients.

She noticed that the last bed in the ward was surrounded by large white screens. When she finally had a spare minute she went down to check who it was, although she was fairly certain it was him. Although she had expected the worst, she wasn't prepared for what she saw.

He was covered in bruises and cuts, and had even more scars than when she had seen him at Bill and Fleur's. Madam Pomfrey was leaning over him, examining the wound which scared Ginny the most. On the left of his chest, around where his heart was, was a lightning-bolt scar which matched the one on his forehead. Fear and horror washed over Ginny as she realised that Harry had been hit.

'Maybe he actually did die,' thought Ginny. The wound was bright red, and looked fresh. She wondered in dread, how many chances Harry had left, was he immune to the killing curse? She needed answers.

Madam Pomfrey was carefully pouring drops of potion into some of Harry's worst cuts and hadn't noticed that Ginny was there until she moved closer to the bed. She saw Ginny's anxious face and knew she was worried about him.

"He should be perfectly fine, Miss Weasley," Madam Pomfrey told her. Sensing that Ginny wasn't satisfied, she offered her the bottle of potion. "It's Essence of Dittany. Just pour a drop onto and wound and it will heal."

She showed Ginny exactly what to do before hurrying to attend to her other patients. Ginny moved to where Madam Pomfrey had stood and began healing Harry's many wounds. For once, she felt almost glad he was asleep, as it would have been terribly awkward. She wondered to herself how anyone had managed to get Harry to go to the Hospital Wing in the first place. She guessed that it may have been Hermione or her mother's decision.

When she finished treating Harry's cuts, and they were beginning to heal, she saw Harry's eyelids flutter and began to panic. She needed to talk to him, and he was going to answer all of her questions, but not yet. She got up and left, handing the half-empty bottle of Dittany back to Madam Pomfrey as she passed.

Ginny would not usually walk away from anything, but she didn't want to have to talk to Harry yet. She angry and upset that he had left her to go fight Voldemort and that he had let her think that he was dead during the battle. She needed to clear her head first, and then she would talk to him. She walked down to the Great Hall slowly, and found Professor McGonagall making an announcement.

"Firstly," she called out in an authoritative voice, while Ginny sat down with her family. "Restoration of the castle will begin tomorrow morning. Those willing to volunteer may sign their names on any of the pieces of parchment which may be found at the Head Table. If you sign up, you will then be placed on a team, and each team will attempt to repair a different area of the castle." Professor McGonagall paused, indicating the sign-up sheets which were on the table in front of her, before continuing. "Secondly, a memorial will be held in a week for all who were lost during the battle. Funeral and burial ceremonies may be arranged by the families of the deceased."

Ginny sat there for a few moments, watching the line of people going to sign-up to rebuild the castle. She was first to stand from her family, but before long, the rest of her family followed her up to the Head Table. Most of the hall went and signed up, before returning to their seats for lunch. They ate in silence, before a loud bang was heard and the hall was lit up with colour.

The whole hall watched as hundreds of fireworks went off, whizzing and popping before spelling out 'R.I.P. Fred Weasley'. At this, Mrs Weasley burst into tears, while Mr Weasley, Ron, Hermione, Bill, Fleur and Charlie stared at the fireworks. Ginny, however, looked over at George where he sat with Percy and Angelina Johnson who were grinning. Even George was smiling slightly, although he was looking down at his plate. Ginny went over and sat with them, and reached out to touch George's hand.

"Fred wouldn't want us to cry," he said, looking up at Ginny. "He would want us to laugh."

When Ginny realised how true these words were, she started grinning herself. "They're amazing," she said. "Reminds me of the ones you set off for Umbridge."

"Wait until you see the finale." George replied, smiling again. This time the smile seemed a little more sincere, although it was nowhere near his old smile. Ginny turned her eyes back to the sky, and the watched in silence for a moment.

All of a sudden, the fireworks exploded again, displaying a picture of Fred laughing. They staled as this for a few seconds, before changing again to say 'To all those who lost their lives during both wars and their families'. This also waited a second before transforming into the words 'You will never be forgotten'. These words then exploded with a loud bang and separated into many small fireworks, which fizzed and whizzed around the hall before slowly wearing out.

There was silence for a minute before a whisper of "Bloody brilliant!" from Ron, and the whole hall erupted in cheers.

"That was amazing!" cried a familiar voice from behind them. "Fred would be proud."

Ginny turned around to find Harry behind her, grinning broadly. "By the way, when I find out who sent me to the Hospital Wing …" he said, while Hermione blushed. He 'tut'ed to himself and shook his head before turning to Ginny.

"Gin ... Can we talk?" he asked, and the use of her nickname flared her temper.

"Fine," she said stiffly, giving him the best death glare she could manage. She could see it worked to some extent from the anxious look on her face.

"Come with me?" he asked, looking hopefully into her eyes. She couldn't resist his eyes; they were like an open view into his mind, and she could tell from the look in them that he was sorry.

"Lead the way," Ginny said, a little softer and followed her out of the hall.

* * *

><p>After Harry and Ginny had left, Bill turned to Charlie smirking. "Bet you they come back a couple," he said confidently.<p>

"A galleon?" asked Charlie, who was trying to sound equally confident. Bill nodded and the pair shook hands. "Ron would never allow it, and I reckon Harry's too good a mate to go against him."

Bill smirked to himself and watched Ron blush. Charlie looked between the two of them and groaned to himself. 'They must know something I don't' he thought.

Meanwhile, Bill had turned to Fleur, who handed him a picture. It was the copy Fleur had made of the picture of Ginny and Harry which Ginny had had at Shell Cottage. Fleur had left it under Harry's pillow for him to find the next morning, but as far as she knew, Harry had never seen it. When she had gone to change the sheets on the bed, the picture had fluttered to her feet.

Bill handed it to Charlie who gaped at it for a moment before handing it to Ron. Charlie's eyes grew wider when he showed it to Ron who simply shrugged and handed it to George.

George smiled at the image of the two who looked so happy. "Honestly," he said. "You're telling me you never guessed?" He passed it on to Percy who muttered something under his breath about Ginny being too young to have a boyfriend.

He handed the picture to his mother, who nearly fell off her seat. "Harry and Ginny!" she cried happily. "Oh, I wondered why she was so sad all year! She said she was having boy troubles but I never knew it was Harry! And they hid it from us all this time!"

Charlie was stunned at his family's reaction. He had expected them to play the defensive brother roles and go have a very serious talk with Harry, but they all took it very lightly. When Arthur saw the photo, he simply smiled at how happy the couple looked, smiling back at him. He placed it down on the table and Charlie turned to Ron.

"Since when?" he asked, still feeling annoyed that everyone else seemed to know or at least suspect something about Harry and Ginny's relationship except him

"Quidditch final last year," he said, looking down at his feet.

"And they hid that all summer?" Charlie asked. "They don't look like they're hiding it there!"

"Eh, well, no, they didn't exactly hide it." said Ron sheepishly. "And they broke up at Dumbledore's funeral." Sensing that this wasn't enough to satisfy Charlie, Ron continued. "Harry knew we had a mission from Dumbledore and he did it to protect Ginny. He thought Voldemort would go after her if he found out they were ... close, like he did with Sirius."

The protective older brother in Charlie was not happy, but he had to admit he couldn't blame Harry for breaking up with her.

"She's crazy about him, you know," Bill said, looking up from the photo. "When you guys were at Aunt Muriel's house, she overheard me telling Dad that Harry, Ron and Hermione were at our house. She ran off and came to find them. Fleur found her watching him outside, and she had this picture with her. When we brought her inside, she told us everything. Fleur made a copy of the picture to give to Harry, but he never took it."

"He's crazy 'bout her too," said Ron reluctantly. "He talks in his sleep. When we were gone he would say her name over and over again."

They fell into silence again before Hermione spoke up. "I think Colin took that photo," she said, and tears came into her eyes as she said his name. "Colin Creevy. He was always taking pictures of everyone and I'm sure I saw him by the lake that day."

"How'd they get together?" George asked, finally speaking up. The question brought smiles to both Hermione and Fleur's faces, while Ron shook his head. It was Hermione who answered.

"For that Quidditch match, Snape gave Harry detention, so Ginny had to play seeker. Well, we won anyways, and when Harry came into the common room, Ginny came running at him, and he kissed her."

"In front of the whole of Griffindor?" asked Charlie, unwilling to believe what he had heard. "What did Ron say?"

"Well, Ron wasn't too happy about it at the start, but he came around," replied Hermione. "He was the reason they weren't together sooner actually, because Harry was afraid of what Ron would think."

"Anyways, Hermione, how do you know so much about Harry's feelings?" asked Charlie. "You'd expect him to tell Ron, but since it was Ginny, I can see why he didn't."

"Well," said Hermione evasively, biting her lip. "Ron had a girlfriend that year, and so Harry and I were feeling the same things." She finished the last sentence it a rush, blushing furiously.

The rest of the Weasley family smirked at them; both of them were blushing and looking down at the ground.

Charlie sighed and turned back to Bill. "May as well hand over that galleon now." he said, pulling a galleon out of his pocket and handing in to Bill.


	6. Chapter 5

_**Restarting the Heart**_

**Chapter 5:**

**Disclaimer: I'm not J.K. Rowling. **

Harry and Ginny walked in silence out of the Great Hall and down to the lake where they had spent many happy afternoons. When they reached the spot where they used to sit Harry began to speak.

"Ginny," he said cautiously. "I'm so sorry; it's all my fault –"

"Don't," warned Ginny. She could almost feel the anger burning inside her at these words. "Harry James Potter, how could you do that to me? Do you have any idea of what that did to me? After we haven't seen each other in months, you finally come back you let me think you're dead? You left without even a goodbye! What the bloody hell were you thinking?"

Harry stared into her eyes for a moment with a pained look on his face. When he opened his mouth to speak Ginny cut him off once more.

"No Harry," she sighed. "If all you're going to do is stand there, apologise and blame yourself for everything, I'm not going to listen to it. I need the proper story." At this she folded her arms and looked expectantly at Harry. Seeing the confused look on Harry's face, she added, "I want you to explain what happened since you left and why you had to. I want all the details, without the protecting me crap."

"Eh, ok," said Harry, slightly surprised at how calm Ginny was acting now, compared to five minutes ago. He had expected more yelling and possibly hexing, but Ginny suddenly had a tired look on her face.

"Right," continued Harry. "Well, I suppose it starts with the lessons Dumbledore gave me last year. He showed me memories of Voldemort's past, of when he was a child and when he was at Hogwarts.

Voldemort's real name was Tom Marvolo Riddle. His mother was Merope Gaunt, one of Slytherin's last descendants. She fell in love with a rich muggle called Tom Riddle, but he didn't love her back. She used magic, most likely a love potion, to make him want to run away with her.

When Voldemort's mother found out she was pregnant, she must have stopped using the love potion, as Tom Riddle Senior returned to the village where he had lived, saying he had been tricked. Merope Gaunt was left alone in London, and died soon after Tom Riddle Jnr was born. He was forced to live in a muggle orphanage, not knowing about magic until he was eleven."

"Wait a second Voldemort was a half-blood who grew up with muggles?" asked Ginny suddenly. For one,_ Voldemort_, leader of the the pureblood supremacy league, was a _half-blood! _Secondly, Voldemort's childhood sounded similar to Harry's, both half-bloods, brought up by muggles... She was brought out of the thoughts when Harry nodded and continued.

"Anyways, when he was a child, Riddle found out he could use his powers to hurt people he didn't like. He stole stuff from the other children, and bullied them. He always thought there was something special about him, and when he found out he was a wizard he wasn't even surprised."

"When he got to Hogwarts, all the teachers thought he was a model student, except Dumbledore. Dumbledore knew that Riddle was a bully, and he was right to suspect him. He got involved in the dark arts and, well, you know what happened with the Chamber of Secrets. That's a big part of the story. The diary was a Horcrux. A Horcrux is something that someone has hidden a part of their soul in."

"You mean that was a part of Voldemort's soul?" she whispered. She had been turning gradually paler as her continued and when Harry nodded she turned a sickly white.

"Riddle made seven of them, ripping his soul into eight pieces. That's what we've been doing," he explained, seeing the half-disgusted, half-confused look on her face. "The first one was the diary, which I destroyed in the Chamber. The second was a ring, which Dumbledore found and destroyed. It was hidden in the Gaunt family house. The third, you've seen before. Do you remember in Grimauld Place, when your mum had us all tidying up?"

She nodded, going through in her head what the Horcrux might be. It could definitely have been one of the Black family heirlooms, as they were big supporters of Voldemort, and half of them were Death Eaters.

"You know there was that big locket that no one could open?" Realisation dawned on her face as she remembered the locket. "It was Slytherin's. Ron destroyed that one," she said quickly, seeing the look on her face.

"Mundungus stole it from Grimauld place, but when he was trying to sell it, Unbridge caught him. She took the locket and let him off. We used Polyjuice Potion to sneak into the ministry and steal it back."

"The fourth one was Hufflepuff's cup. We found that one in the Lestrange's vault in Gringotts. That's why we had to break in, because if we didn't destroy the Horcruxes, we couldn't beat Voldemort. Hermione destroyed that one at the start of the battle.

The fifth one was Ravenclaw's diadem. All the founders had heirlooms, and three of them were horcruxes. That one was destroyed by some FendyFire in the Room of Requirement during the battle. Riddle hid it there because he thought that only he could have found the room, because he had some sort of extra power.

The sixth one was the snake, Nagini, and you saw how Neville killed it. The last one, was me," he said quietly, assessing Ginny's reaction. Her eyes widened in shock and she glanced up at Harry in an unspoken plea for information.

"To create a Horcrux, you have to commit murder. When Voldemort tried to kill me when I was a baby, a piece of his soul broke off and attached it to mine. That's why I get all the weird visions and pains in my scar, because that's where the part of his soul was."

Ginny could not help but to notice that Harry was speaking in past tense, and wondered out loud how the piece of Voldemort's soul could have been destroyed.

"I found out about the piece of Voldemort's soul half way through the battle, and I knew what I had to do. I left," he said, unsure of how Ginny would react to this revelation. "I went into the forest to find him. I had to let him kill me."

Tears welled up in Ginny's eyes at the thought of Harry walking to his death. "Oh, God Harry," she whispered. "That must have been terrible."

"It was," he agreed, thinking of what had been going through his mind at the time. "But, I didn't really die. The part of Voldemort that was inside me died, and I came back.

Then there's that final battle. Do you know the story of the three brothers?" She nodded and he continued. "They're real, and Voldemort wanted the Elder Wand. He spent the year looking for it, when it was actually here.

"There's a really long story that goes behind the wand. It passed from owner to owner, and the trail is pretty gory. Dumbledore won the wand from Grindlewald in their duel. He was the master of the Elder Wand.

"That night, on the Astronomy Tower, Draco Malfoy disarmed Dumbledore. He took the wand from him with force, and even though he didn't kill Dumbledore or know the wand was his to keep, he was the next master. Voldemort went to Dumbledore's tomb and stole the wand, but it didn't work properly for him.

"While we were gone, we got caught by a group of Snatchers, who had capture Dean and a goblin. It took them a while, but they recognised us. They took us to Malfoy Manor to get Voldemort. They threw me and Ron in the dungeons, where we met Luna and Olivander, and they tortured Hermione. Dobby the house elf came to save us and he took the others to Bill and Fleur's house, while me and Ron went to rescue Hermione. I disarmed Malfoy, and I won his wand and the Elder Wand.

"When it came to the final battle, the wand wouldn't work properly for Voldemort, so when I disarmed him, it recognised it's true master and came to me. That's basically it, skipping over the little details, but I promise I'll explain it in more detail later."

Harry knew that it was only a hazy outline of what they had done over the past year, but he also knew that if he went into a day-to-day narrative that Ginny would have probably gotten bored, lost her temper and not let him explain.

"You must have gone through hell," she said sadly.

"It was terrible," he agreed, "but it's over now." Seeing the pained look on his face, Ginny took his hand in hers and squeezed it. The pained look in his eyes quickly turned into confusion.

"But, I left!" he spluttered, staring at their intertwined hands.

"And I waited," whispered Ginny passionately, and she leant up and caught him in a loving kiss.

"I love you so much Ginny," he whispered, twice as passionately as Ginny had. "You have no idea how much you mean to me."

"I think I do," she said quietly, "because I feel the exact same about you. I love you too." She close the gap between them and kissed him again.


	7. Chapter 6

**Sorry I haven't uploaded, I've had exams ans just general stuff going on for the last few weeks. Here's the next chapter, it's more of a filler than anything, but I enjoyed writing it.****  
>Huge thanks to everyone who added alerts, favourites and reviewed. I'm looking for a beta on my stories, so if anyone's interested, could they please message me to let me know. Thanks!<strong>

**Disclaimer: You probably saw it in every other chapter, but still, I don't own anything.**

**Chapter 6:**

Harry and Ginny walked back to the Great Hall hand-in-hand, heading towards the table where the Weasley family was gathered, looking over a list of some sort. When they joined the group, Charlie sighed and looked over at Bill, who had a superior smirk on his face. Fleur and Hermione were beaming at the two, while everyone else was staring either at the parchment or blankly at the table. George looked the worst of them all. He was staring into space, while Angelina Johnson was trying to comfort him.

"What's that?" asked Ginny, breaking away from Harry slightly to lean over and look at the parchment. Mr Weasley looked up at Ginny and lifted the list slightly so she could see it.

"It's a list of the teams for the repairs," he said, pulling the list back down on the table and continuing to stare at it.

"You're on the Entrance Hall repairs," she informed Harry as she scanned the list. "I'm on Ravenclaw Tower," she continued, her brow furrowing slightly as she read. "Not that bad, at least I'm with Luna." Her mood brightened considerably at the thought. Although she would have preferred to be with Harry or her family, Luna was a close second. "Where are the rest of you?"

"Fifth floor corridors with Fleur and Charlie," said Bill, who was looking over at George with a concerned look on his face.

"Molly is going to help out in the Hospital Wing, while Percy, Ron and I are helping out in the dungeons," answered Mr Weasley emotionlessly. He was sitting close to Mrs Weasley, who didn't look as if she had acknowledged the conversation, or had the strength to join in.

"I'm going to the Ministry first thing tomorrow morning," supplied Hermione, who was sitting next to Ron, while the two were holding hands. "Later on, I'll be helping in the Main Courtyard."

"George and I are in the fourth-floor charms classroom. I was there just now, and it looked pretty bad," Angelina informed them, taking her eyes off George to answer Ginny. "I think Lee said he was going to help us there too, right George?" George nodded weakly at her, breaking off the stare for a few seconds.

"When do we start?" asked Harry, throwing George a strained glance. A look of guilt crosses his face, but he hastily dropped it when Ginny turned to glare at him.

"Tomorrow morning, after breakfast," replied Mr Weasley, who had turned back to Molly, who was sitting with her head down and her eyes closed, and looked quite tired. "It might be best if we have an early night tonight." He looked towards George, Percy, then Molly and gave the rest of them a final look.

"There are more rooms ready tonight," said Bill cautiously, gauging how his mother would react. "Charlie, Percy, George, Ron and Harry can have the dorm we were in last night, and the girls can go back to their dorms. Mum and Dad, you can have the Head Girl's room, and Fleur and I'll take the Head Boy's."

To Ginny's surprise, no one objected to these suggestions, only Angelina asked if she and Hermione wanted to move into their dorms. She told them that there was only Katie, Alicia and her in their room, and that it felt oddly empty. They quickly agreed, and everyone gradually drifted off to bed.

Ginny got ready for bed quickly, but instead of going to sleep, she decided to draw the curtains around her bed and sit up against the headboard. Occasionally she would hear one of the other girls getting into bed or whispering to each other, but she stayed as she was until all the noise had died down. She spent the time thinking over the past year, the war, the battle and how the future would turn out. A high-pitched whisper from Hermione drew her from her thoughts.

"Ginny?" she whispered faintly. "Ginny, are you asleep yet?"

"No," replied Ginny quietly, drawing back the curtain so Hermione could sit down on the bed. "I needed time to think."

Ginny lit her wand, and immediately noticed the tear stains that streaked down Hermione's face, her puffy eyes with dark circles around them, and her pale face. She was extremely skinny and looked very weak and her deep brown eyes looked tired and weary. She looked as though she hadn't eaten or slept properly in weeks, and Ginny knew that this could very possibly be the case.

"Yes," Hermione nodded, sighing slightly staring off into space for a moment before continuing. "It's strange to think that it's all over. So many people were lost and I don't know whether to mourn over them or celebrate out victory."

This feeling Ginny understood. When the battle was over, she had felt immensely happy for about an hour, knowing that now they were safe. She could be with Harry and her family could live normally again. All it had taken was one look around at the tear stained faces of her family and the others who had lost someone they loved in the fight to make her feel guilty about her happiness. She hadn't known which she should feel.

"It's also an odd feeling," continued Hermione after a slight pause. Ginny could tell that she needed to get this off of her chest, so she let her talk without an interruption. "For the last seven years, the last three especially, our lives have always involved Voldemort. Now, it fells surreal to think that we're free to relax and live a normal life.

"For the whole year, all I've thought about was the war and fighting Voldemort and the Death Eaters. All I've done is fight. For a whole year it's been constantly on my mind, and has taken up all my time. Now that it's all over, I feel so lost. So many people died because one man wanted power and glory. It's just so unfair."

Ginny could see the pain and worry in her eyes as she spoke, and she understood fully how she felt. She had spent several hours after she had first found out about the deaths, Fred's especially, wondering why he died and why not someone else. Their lives had been completely taken over by the war, and as much as her mother had tried to prevent it, they had all been heavily involved. They were forced to grow up quicker than they should have had to, and to deal with things only adults should have to deal with.

They had faced death, evil and suffering since the war had broken out, and it had literally changed their lives and shaped who they were. It had played such a major part in their lives that it was odd to imagine a life without it. The past year especially, had been hard on almost everyone, inside of Hogwarts and out. A life without the worries and fears they had face seemed impossible, yet it was a reality now.

They sat in silence for a few moments, before a second voice spoke up through the darkness, drawing Ginny out from her thoughts and startling them both.

"I guess you two couldn't sleep either," came the voice of Angelina from the opposite side to Hermione. Ginny shook her head as Angelina sat down on the bed too. "I've been worrying about George. He's been in shock all day. He won't talk to anyone and I only barely convinced him to eat dinner. I'm nearly positive he's not sleeping either."

She shook her head sadly, glancing towards the door, in the direction of the boy's dorms. "I've been considering going to check on him, but I don't know if it would help. He has his brothers there anyways."

"He just needs time to heal," assured Hermione softly. "He's been through a lot, we all have."

There was a short silence between them as they contemplated their worries, Angelina, throwing a glance towards the door every few seconds and Ginny and Hermione lost in thought.

Ginny was thinking about how her brother must be feeling. She was distraught about Fred's death, but while she had lost a brother, George had lost his twin. You never saw one of them without the other, and it would be difficult to imagine a world without Fred. Every time she saw George, she would expect to see Fred following him. She couldn't begin to understand how George was feeling, or how he would cope without Fred.

Her thoughts were interrupted when Angelina spoke again. "I suppose we'll have the time now," she said quietly, sniffing slightly before continuing. "Do you have any idea what you're going to do?"

"I think I'd like to do something more with S.P.E.W., after I finish my last year at Hogwarts, of course," replied Hermione thoughtfully. "I'll probably end up in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures." She bit her lip gently before continuing quietly. "I'd also like my future to contain Ron."

"Are you two dating then?" asked Angelina, smiling weakly at Hermione's confirming nod. "Anyone could have seen that coming a mile away. It's been obvious that you've liked each other for years."

"Obvious to everyone except them," Ginny smiled, watching Hermione blush at her teasing. "As for me, I have to finish my last year at Hogwarts, then, I'd like to play Quidditch, for the Harpies if I can. A lot of my future will be with Harry too." She finished her speech confidently, smiling at the thought of her future with Harry.

"So you and Harry are dating as well?" Angelina queried, smiling again at Ginny's confident nod.

"What about you, Angelina?" asked Ginny, looking over at her. "What do you want to do?"

"I was in the middle of training to be a Healer when the war affected my training, and I had to stop. I want to finish my training and be there for George, if I can."

Ginny smiled to herself, thinking that George and Angelina could soon become more than friends if Angelina spent so much time with him.

"We should probably try to get some sleep," reasoned Hermione, brushing her hair out of her face and yawning.

"No offence, but you look like you really need a good night's sleep," said Ginny carefully. "All three of you look like you haven't slept or eaten well in a while."

"We were worse a few months ago, but when we stayed with Bill and Fleur, we gained some of our strength back."

Ginny frowned worriedly, lying down and pulling the cover around her as the others left with murmured goodnights. If they looked this weak after staying in Shell Cottage, she dreaded to think what they were like before…

Sighing, she pushed those thoughts aside and cleared her mind, before drifting off into a peaceful sleep.

***Question* Does anyone want me to write a conversation between the boys? I have a basic draft for one, but I'm not sure if I'll finish it.**


	8. Chapter 7

_*deep breath* Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry! Gah! It's been months since I've uploaded anything on here. The only excuse I can give is summer and holidays, but basically it was laziness I give you all permission to Gibbs-slap me across the head if you ever meet me (except if your name is Delia) for being a terrible person and uploader. If you're reading all of this, thank you, and I'll stop talking soon, so on with the story! (If there's even anyone reading this anymore…)_

**Chapter 7:**

Across the tower in the boy's dorms, they were also having trouble sleeping. All five of them were sitting around in a tight enough circle. Sitting on the ground were Charlie, Ron and Harry, all in their pyjamas, while George and Percy were both on their beds, fully clothed and wide awake. Charlie was the only one to look sleepy, slumping against the leg of Percy's bed. He yawned and stretched, being the first one to make any noise or movement in a while. The other two on the floor had also been waiting for a moment to break the awkward, dead atmosphere in the room, but couldn't bring themselves to speak.

Charlie had been building up his courage for a while, and had decided that it was time to wake them all up a bit. Although he also grieved for his brother and regretted not being around more, he preferred to grieve in time rather than to let all his emotion out at once.

"Percy, George do you two want to get ready for bed yet? Harry, Ron and me can leave for a while if you want…" He looked hopefully up between the two, but neither moved.

"Later, maybe," George replied quietly, without any emotion in his voice.

"Now, George," Percy stated, not moving either, but still seeming authoritive as usual. Surprisingly to the rest of them, George got up and picked up his pyjamas, drawing the curtains around his bed for privacy. Percy seemed to sense what he was doing, as less than a second after George moved, Percy mimicked his movements almost exactly, without looking over once. The other three retreated to Charlie's bed, and sat on it, Charlie against the headboard, Ron lounged across the middle and Harry at the end. Once again Charlie was the first to speak. Although there were only a few years between them, Charlie seemed to have taken on the mature, adult role.

"Let's talk about something, anything except silence," he muttered, sounding loud in the heavy silence. Ron took up the time with his basic question.

"So, how much did Ginny yell at you before she took you back?" He grinned slightly, temporarily putting the events of the past year to the back of his mind, and having a casual conversation with his best mate.

"Not as much as I expected, actually. She-" At this point he was cut off by Charlie, who was reminded be his earlier vow to find out as much as he could about Harry and Ginny's relationship and history.

"So, you've been with her before, then?" He gave Harry a would-be stern look, but it was ruined by the genuine curiosity in his eyes. Harry wasn't surprised by his questioning; he'd been expecting it eventually.

"We dated for just over a month last year, yes." Charlie nodded, frowning slightly because of not hearing about it before.

"And why did you breakup?" Harry almost winced, knowing that they probably wouldn't understand their reasoning.

"I was leaving; the war was getting bigger; it was just too dangerous for her. You know how she was targeted in her first year with the diary just because she knew me! It wasn't fair on her, and I couldn't see her hurt because of me." Charlie's eyes narrowed, not understanding which kind of hurt Harry meant.

"But that's exactly what you did when you left her! You hurt her then! Do you realise that every time one of those stupid articles came up in the Prophet about you being dead, she cried herself to sleep! You don't know how hard it's been for us, for her!" His rant would probably have gone on for longer, but Ron interrupted.

"How hard it's been for you? We haven't been on a holiday for the past year! If you've had it bad, we've had it worse! Do _you _realise that we went weeks without food, shelter or anything?" He was furious that Charlie just disregarded the struggle they went through. His statement seemed to shock his brother into silence, but Ron wasn't finished.

"I listened to the radio every single night, dreading to hear any of your names! I lay awake hearing Hermione relive the Crutiatas in her sleep! Hearing Harry screaming from being inside You-Know-Who's mind! Hearing him relive his parent's murders, Sirius's murder, Dumbledore's murder! We were trapped in Death Eater Central for Merlin's sake! You cannot tell me how bad your year's been Charlie, because whatever you've had, we've had worse!"

Ron sighed and got up, walking around the bed, almost bumping into George and Percy who were standing behind the bed, shocked into silence, just like Charlie. They had evidently come over sometime during Ron's rant, dressed and ready for bed. Ron looked around at the startled faces and scratched his head awkwardly, heading over to his own bed.

"Is it true?" asked Charlie suddenly. "All of that, is it true?

"Yeah, all of it," Harry confirmed, looking at the ground.

"Death Eater Central," asked Percy. "What's Death Eater Central?"

"Malfoy Manor. Voldemort used it as his headquarters. All the main Death Eaters were there, Bellatrix, the Malfoys, Greyback, all sorts…"

"And Hermione, the Crutiatas…?"

"Bellatrix," Harry growled angrily. They heard a loud noise which sounded suspiciously like someone punching the wall and growling loudly. Ron wasn't the only one to make noise, Charlie swore quietly to himself under his breath. The tight, tense silence enveloped them once more, until Charlie re-opened their first topic of conversation.

"So, now that there are no crazy psychopaths or evil villains after you, what are your intentions towards our sister?" Harry was slightly taken aback this time, as he had thought their questioning was over.

"Well, I guess for now we're just dating, but I like her. I like her a lot." Apart from a slow nod from Charlie, they hardly took any notice of what he said.

"That'll do for now, but if you hurt her again, we won't just forgive. Prepare for the force of all six Weasley brothers."

"Five," George cut in hoarsely. "There are only five of us now." This brought silence from them all, and the crowd dispersed to their own beds, not wanting to discuss the painful topic anymore.

Harry was back in his own bed nearly asleep, when he heard Ron get up beside him and draw back his curtains.

"I won't even bother giving you a speech about Ginny, for two reasons. One, she can stick up for herself, and two, I know you'd never hurt her."

"Oh really?" Charlie interrupted rudely, standing beside Ron. "What makes you so sure of that second point?" Shaking his head, Ron looked into Charlie's eyes and spoke with an air of finality.

"You didn't hear him. Every night, he used to wish her goodnight, and I could even hear him mention her in his sleep. He _really_likes her, and I reckon she feels the same!" With that, he drew the curtains of Harrys bed, blocking Charlie from view. Harry heard him flop onto his own bed and sigh, settling down.

Charlie trudged back over to his bed soon after, leaving only a note for Harry to get in the morning.

"_One chance Potter. Don't blow it."_

_One last little note. I just noticed that this fic has been added to 2 communities. I went through them, and some of my favourite fan-fics are there. Thank you guys so, so much for putting me up with that standard. I only started this to help my creativity :)_


	9. Chapter 8

_**Restarting the Heart**_

**Disclaimer: My initials are E.C.L, not J.K.R.**

****This chapter was edited and re-posted 29/3/13. I added the second and third parts, as it's easier than leaving two smaller chapters.****

**Chapter 8:**

Ginny woke up late, more for not being able to get up than actually oversleeping. She had, in fact, woken up four times already, but had rolled over and hidden in her duvet again, for reasons she couldn't explain. She was usually an early riser, from Quidditch practice to living at the Burrow she was used to it.

She dressed quickly, putting on a pair of old jeans and a hoody that were on the end of her bed. After braiding her hair back, she headed down to the Great Hall for breakfast. Lost in her own world, she barely noticed how quiet it was, or how empty it was. She had almost shut out the world around her, for reasons she wasn't even thinking of.

Suddenly, as she entered the Hall, she knew something was wrong. It was silent. That could be expected, but what scared her was the fact that it was empty.

She left the Hall and walked through the hallways, finding everything still, silent and empty. The castle was back to how it had been before the war, but there were a few subtle changes. It was oddly hazy, like there was fog inside her head.

As she walked, her feet felt heavy and she was suddenly exhausted. Barely able to keep her eyes open, she stumbled into the first room she could see and promptly fell, passed out.

She never hit the ground.

* * *

><p>In an ancient Manor, miles from the safety of Hogwarts Castle and it's comfort, an unlikely attacker sat at a muggle chess board, poking as the figurines to move them across the checkered playing field. There were no knights, bishops or pawns in this game, though. The figurines were exact replicas of their human doubles, almost to the last detail.<p>

The player on the white's side casts a shadow across the board, letting the person opposite her be seen in full. Ginny Weasley is a sight for sore eyes, gagged and tied to a chair, slumped over in exhaustion.

"I make the first move; I have the upper hand. White to move first, while black still slumber. Stealing one of their own from under their very eyes." A tiny figurine in the middle of the front row is pushed two squares forward, leaving it isolated in the middle of the board, bright orange hair standing out against the black and white tiles. "Ginny Weasley to E4."

"The King is now vulnerable, and the Queen indirectly so, along with most of the powerful figures. One tiny, insignificant girl may make all the difference.

"This would be so much more entertaining with an opponent, wouldn't it. Yes, it would. Maybe the girl can join me? No, not yet. More time is needed. Besides, it's not like she's going anywhere!" The unfortunate girl's abductor cackled dramatically before bursting into false giggles.

"No, we let you sleep for now, you look tired." A hand stretched out, ghosting slowly over the dark circles under the redhead's closed eyes. A demented smile crossed the villain's face, pale pink lips drawing back to reveal a pristine set of pearly white teeth. A lock of pale blond hair fell from it's usual exquisite style as their head moved.

"You have so much ahead of you, you'll need the rest." The shadow rose, unfolding her legs from beneath her and standing, revealing an alarmingly thin body, covered only by a tank top and leggings. Her hair was long, perfectly straight and so pale it was practically white. It was only a few shades darker than her skin, which was practically translucent in the dark room.

As she glided through the room with an air of elegance that would rival any princess she came further into view. Her sapphire blue eyes were so piercingly bright that they almost created their own source of light. Her skin was flawless, without a blemish. She was taller than average, at least six foot tall, height making up for her petite frame. The dazed smile still graced her face yet it did not soften her defined features; it made her look more like the madwoman she really was rather than the harmless beauty she was seen as.

At a time, she would have been enchantingly beautiful, memorable blue eyes and breathtaking poise. She had a silent confidence about her that might have worked in her favor, had she been aiming to be charming and not imposing. Now, a mere shell of the goddess she might have been, she seems sharper and haughtier than anyone would have expected from such a small girl.

Having reached the opposite side of the room, she paused momentarily, picking up her wand and lazily flicking it towards the fireplace before storing it in the waistband of her leggings. She strolled over to the chess board again and assumed her sitting position, drumming her fingernails threateningly over the piece in the Queen's square. A chip of brown paint flicked off it, leaving a bald white patch on the wavy brown hair.

"I would have liked to have woken her to show her exactly what's happening her poor friends, but I suppose it can't be helped. As black does not yet have a player, white move again." She plucked the dainty statuette from it's spot and moved it three spaces diagonally. "Hermione Granger to G4." She chuckled darkly at something before leaving back from the board again.

"You'll be next Mudbloods."

* * *

><p>In the girls dorms of Gryffindor tower, the aforementioned Mudblood woke with a troubled mind. She had finally gotten her first full night's rest in weeks, but it didn't feel right. She had not dreamed, she did not feel rested and her limbs felt paralyzed. With a few light stretches, the numbness left her and she rose for the day.<p>

A half an hour and one warm shower, she felt much more relaxed. Dressing efficiently, she cast mild glamour charms on the worst of her scars and the bags under her eyes before going to wake her dorm mates. Angelina had risen already, her bed was half made and her clothes had gone. Hermione suspected she was with the rest of the Weasleys at breakfast. Katie and Alicia awoke without much trouble, both of them got out of bed expressing similar desires to begin restoration work on the Castle.

She left Ginny until last, as she thought she might need the sleep. After contemplating for a few brief moments on whether to leave her sleep or not, she headed towards the final bed in the room, drawing back the heavy maroon curtains before peering over the bed.

Hermione was sure her heart must have lept with joy as she surveyed the bed. It was perfectly made, which wasn't like Ginny at all. It wasn't that the youngest Weasley was untidy, she just never put her full effort into neatness. Her clothes were folded perfectly on the end of the bed, her robe hanging from a hanger on the bed's frame. She was constantly reminding the redhead to leave her bed exactly as it was this morning and Hermione felt oddly proud and satisfied that someone was finally heeding her instructions.

She almost overlooked the small doll and note on the pillow, that was until the note flickered with the breeze created by the curtain. The tiny lookalike set off warning signals in Hermione's mind, and even without understanding the meaning of the note she knew something was wrong.

She fled the room, figurine and parchment in hand, the artistic script of the note and it's simple message almost gone from her mind.

_E4_

* * *

><p><strong>Imporant: Pairings!<strong>

_What couples do you guys want to see in this story? (other than Hinny) I'll take suggestions for almost anything, but the characters who are dead must stay dead. Other than that, it's up to you!_


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